Joseph Lam, a professor in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, and Keith Cassidy, a professor emeritus in the Department of History, are the latest member of the University of Guelph community to receive Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medals.
Commemorating the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s accession to the throne as Queen of Canada, the award recognizes Canadians who have made a significant contribution to other citizens, their community or their country.
Lam received his medal Jan. 10 during a 50th-anniversary celebration for the Kitchener/Waterloo cystic fibrosis (CF) chapter. A recognized leader in CF research, he has studied the disease since his doctorate at the University of Calgary, where his PhD supervisor had a son with CF.
Cystic fibrosis is the most common fatal genetic disease affecting young Canadians. One in every 25 Canadians carries a defective copy of the gene responsible for the disease; if both parents have a defective copy, their child has a one-in-four chance of being born with the affliction.
Cassidy will receive a medal Jan. 18. He’s being recognized for his work in support of Catholic higher education. He is currently the president and acting academic dean of Our Lady Seat of Wisdom Academy in Barry’s Bay Ontario.